Student recalls pebbles fell, teachers urged calm before roof collapse

The teachers at the primary school building

that collapsed earlier in the day in Rajasthan's Jhalawar,

claiming the lives of seven students, were alerted by the children that something was amiss.

However, the teachers, who were having breakfast at the time, did not pay heed to the students' urgent plea and instead told them to return to their classroom.

Pebbles were falling. When the students told the teachers, they scolded them and kept having breakfast. If the children were taken out, the accident would not have happened," a student told India Today TV.

The teachers were allegedly having breakfast outside the area where the roof collapsed - the same place where students from Class 1 to 8 had gathered for the morning assembly.

The children were made to sit inside the class for prayer. The teachers were having breakfast. When pebbles started falling inside, the children told the teachers. The teachers scolded the children and asked them to sit back in class. After that, the wall gave way and the roof fell on the children. Many children ran here and there to escape, with many getting buried under the rubble. After that the children were taken out with the help of the villagers," an eighth-standard student said.

According to sources, the walls and roof of the school were in a dilapidated condition. Cement had been applied and plastering done just a month ago.